Not a lot of real estate agents work in the senior niche. While that’s a pity for older Americans, it’s a huge opportunity for real estate agents. Especially if you’re new to the industry, submersing yourself in the senior real estate market may just be your ticket to the big time.
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Here are some tips when it comes to designing real estate websites for baby boomers.
Get to know the baby boomer demographic
Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964 and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the cohort numbers “about 73 million.”
The biggest misconception about baby boomers is that they’re tech dolts. Younger Americans, especially, don’t seem to realize that it was two boomers – Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs — who created the Apple II personal computer.
“It arguably did more than any other product to usher in an age in which computers would become as ubiquitous as TVs and telephones,” according to Patrick J. Kiger with Reuters.
And, it was a baby boomer who gave the personal computer the ability to get online. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, born in London in 1955, was the guy who “came up with the concept for what became the Web,” according to Kiger and “developed a software language to create web pages and the first web browser.”
In fact, 90 percent of boomers own a PC or laptop, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Older Americans go online to read the news, listen to music, pursue hobbies and stay in touch with friends and family.
The internet is their chosen method for house hunting too. If you hope to pursue this niche, get your website baby boomer-friendly. This means, first, ensuring it is optimized for mobile.
Then, work on tweaking the site’s other features.
Increase the font size
Face it – our eyesight at age 65 typically isn’t what it was at 25. “Beginning in the early to mid-40s, many adults may start to have problems seeing clearly at close distances, especially when reading and working on the computer,” according to the experts at the American Optometric Association.
They go on to say that changes in our eyesight are “among the most common problems adults develop between the ages 41 to 60” and it progresses over time.
When considering font size for real estate websites for baby boomers, understand that the best “size will vary depending on the font you choose as not all fonts are the same size,” according to Susan DeRemer, vice president of development at Discovery Eye Foundation.
“A 14-point type size in New Times Roman [sic] is smaller than a 14-point Verdana font,” she explains. Her recommendation is that the ideal font size should be 14 points or higher.
DeRemer recommends Verdana because it’s a “naturally large font,” even at 12 points.
But it’s not just font size
Ease in reading online text on real estate websites for baby boomers also depends on the page layout.
- Ensure that paragraphs are short, that you break up long passages with subheadings, bulleted lists and clear photos.
- Buttons and link text should have lots of space around them and the former’s purpose should be clearly labeled.
- Provide obvious, clear confirmation when a form has been successfully submitted.
- Give them a number of ways to contact you – phone, text, email, etc. Ensure your contact information is easy to find.
What to say and how to say it
Keep your lede (the intro to your article, blog post, etc.) short. If you’ve ever read a recipe on a baking or cooking blog you’ll understand how frustrating it is to have to read through unnecessary, valueless garbage. Paragraph after paragraph after paragraph.
There’s nothing that will make a boomer more frustrated than to have to wade through an overly long intro. Except maybe referring to them as “senior citizens.”
Boomers “flat out reject the term ‘senior citizen’ with all of the implications that come with the phrase,” warns John Brandon at Inc. magazine.
You’ll also need to ditch the stereotypes of this generation:
- They aren’t tech dolts
- Most aren’t frail
- They aren’t more “selfish” than members of any other generation
- Many (maybe most) are not considered low income, even if they’re on a fixed income
- They CAN figure out social media
Baby boomers make up 33 percent of the buyers’ market (only 5 percent less than millennials) Forty five percent of the sellers’ pool is filled with boomers. That’s only 3 percent less than the share of millennials and Gen X combined.
Yes, it’s a lucrative market. Target them strategically with real estate websites for baby boomers to stand out from other agents and win their business.